Purnell’s is a Michelin starred restaurant in the centre of Birmingham. Set up by celebrity chef Glynn Purnell in 2007, it is considered a destination restaurant by its visitors, the perfect setting for business meetings and special occasions. Glynn Purnell’s latest book is Rib Ticklers & Choux-Ins with recipes that inspire rustic home cooking with a twist. Purnell’s wishes to continue to be able to maintain its consistency, customer base and reputation without having to think about its IT
Chris Roche, Managing Director at ACUTEC said: ‘We wanted Purnell’s to be able to do what they do best with them never having to worry about their IT again.’
Before ACUTEC
Before Purnell’s engaged with ACUTEC they had been experiencing major issues. The previous provider had set them up with a massive server that was just unnecessary for how the restaurant used technology. 2 VoIP lines had also been installed that would just drop out because the Internet they had been provided with could not cope. Whenever Purnell’s spoke to their previous provider they were never able to get the help they needed and could never speak to the same person twice. Following an incident with a laptop the restaurant staff were left in the frustrating situation of being left with no access to email for 6 months.
The Solution
With the technology situation not improving, ACUTEC was recommended to Purnell’s to provide support. ACUTEC’s solution was to provide Purnell’s with Managed Services. Managed Services allowed for the restaurant to no longer have to think about their IT. If something was to go wrong or help was needed it would be dealt with straight away. With Managed Services ACUTEC would not just be someone to call but their very own IT team, dealing with anything and everything that was needed. Managed Services was introduced by ACUTEC to take away as much pain as possible from IT. The package includes everything so that ACUTEC really is your own personal IT team ready and waiting for when you need it. Purnell’s were one of the first ACUTEC clients to have fully Managed Services and would never look back. Angela O’Carroll at Purnell’s commented: ‘I know within a couple of minutes it will be sorted.’
The Cloud
As well as Managed Services, Purnell’s were one of the first ACUTEC clients to use Office 365. Office 365 is a Cloud Service that enables the user to have access to their emails and documents from anywhere using any device, as well as the latest Microsoft Office Suite. After not being able to access their email with their previous provider, ACUTEC knew that Office 365 was the perfect solution for the restaurant as the staff would be able to access what they needed through multiple methods. Angela said: ‘We’ve always used Office 365 since working with ACUTEC and it’s made it so much easier when away from the restaurant. I now know that I can access my data from wherever I need to.’ Office 365 gives the staff flexibility and reliability that they had never been able to experience before.
Confidence in ACUTEC
‘My favourite thing about ACUTEC is the fact they speak in a language I understand. There isn’t any IT speak. They understand my level of understanding.’ – Angela O’Carroll, Purnell’s Restaurant
Angela and the rest of the Purnell’s team now know that IT will not be a disruptive factor within their business so they can carry on and do what they do best: fine dining. ‘We need to know that when we open a laptop that it’s going to work and connect to the Internet, as much as technology is incidental to us it is still very important and when it doesn’t work it causes a major problem. We rely on it so much without realising.’
